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South Wales Main Line
|notrack = Double track throughout |gauge = (Standard gauge) |ogauge = |speed = }} The South Wales Main Line ( ) is a branch of the Great Western Main Line in the UK. It diverges from the core London-Bristol line at Wootton Bassett near Swindon, first calling at Bristol Parkway, after which the line continues through the Severn Tunnel into South Wales. Arriva Trains Wales operates regional and national services on the line in Wales. First Great Western operates High Speed Trains between London and South Wales and services between Cardiff and South West England. CrossCountry provides services from Cardiff to Nottingham via Gloucester and Birmingham. History The original route of the Great Western Railway between London and South Wales, after the opening of Brunel's Chepstow Railway Bridge in 1852, left the Bristol-bound Great Western Main Line at Swindon, proceeding via Stroud, Gloucester and Chepstow before rejoining the line as we know it today at Severn Tunnel Junction. This gave rise to the nickname 'Great Way Round'. In 1886, the opening of the Severn Tunnel brought the opportunity of a more direct route to South Wales, and trains from Swindon to Newport and beyond were routed via Bristol and the Severn Tunnel. This route leaves the one we know today at Wootton Bassett near Swindon rejoining it close to Patchway station. The route used today was established in 1903 with the building of what is often known as the Badminton Line. This involved the construction of about 33 miles of new track including two tunnels at Alderton and Sodbury between Wootton Bassett and Patchway. Not only did this provide a more direct route for traffic to and from South Wales, the gradient was easier for coal trains to negotiate, and it was perceived that the line would be a boost to what was, at the time of building, the expanding port of Fishguard, which was the GWR's connection to a point of departure for the United States of America by liner. Infrastructure There are four tracks from Severn Tunnel Junction through Newport to Cardiff Central, with two tracks on the remaining sections.Network Rail - Wales Route Utilisation Strategy (November 2008) Multiple-aspect signals are controlled from several power signal boxes including Swindon, Bristol, Newport and Cardiff. The maximum line speed from London to the Severn Tunnel is ; from Severn Tunnel to Newport; from Newport to east of Bridgend; from east of Bridgend to Swansea Loop North junction; and from Swansea Loop North Junction to Swansea. Associated routes Immediately west of Bristol Parkway is a complex of junctions that allow trains to leave and join the main line to South Wales. Trains from London to Bristol Temple Meads can run via the Badminton Line and Filton Abbey Wood, while trains from South Wales can use a curve between Patchway and Filton. The majority of these continue on the Wessex Main Line to Portsmouth, but some trains to London also use this route. An alternative diversionary route exists for when the Severn Tunnel is closed. This takes trains from Severn Tunnel Junction to Gloucester, from where they can rejoin the main line either by using the Golden Valley Line to Swindon, or by using the Cross-Country Route and reversing at Bristol Parkway. If the line is closed between Cardiff Central and Bridgend, an alternative route exists along the Vale of Glamorgan Line. Half of peak High Speed Trains trains and most off peak trains continue from Cardiff Central to Swansea, with a few continuing even further to Carmarthen. The local service between Swansea and Cardiff is branded Swanline. The urban network within and surrounding Cardiff, including on the Maesteg Line, is referred to as Valley Lines. Future plans Traffic levels on the Great Western Main Line are rising faster than national average, with continued increases predicted. The now defunct Strategic Rail Authority produced a Route Utilisation Strategy for the Great Western Main Line in 2005 to propose ways of meeting this demand, Network Rail plan to implement a new study in 2008. In the meantime, their 2007 Business Plan includes the provision of extra platform capacity at Cardiff Central, Newport and Bristol Parkway, also resignalling and line speed improvements in South Wales, most of which would be delivered in 2010-2014. Reading railway station is currently undergoing a major redevelopment and there is a proposed future link to Heathrow Airport directly from Reading under the Heathrow Airtrack scheme. Electrification The South Wales Main Line is one of the last of the major inter-city routes in Great Britain to remain un-electrified. The government announced in July 2009 a scheme to electrify the South Wales Main Line as part of a wider scheme of electrification on the Great Western Main Line. By 2017, the whole of the line will be electrified.Department for Transport: Britain's Transport Infrastructure, Rail Electrification The new Hitachi Super Express trains planned for the Great Western inter-city services will now be predominantly electric units instead of the planned diesel units. However, a proportion of the fleet will be using dual power source electro-diesel bi-mode trains, which will enable services to operate to Swansea before line electrification reaches Swansea. The bi-mode trains will allow inter-city services to operate from London all the way to Carmarthen in the future. The new Super Express trains will bring about an estimated 15% increased capacity during the morning peak hours. Electrification will cut journey times between Swansea and London by an estimated 19 minutes. Communities served Towns and cities served by trains from London: * London * Reading * Didcot * Swindon * Bristol * Newport * Cardiff * Bridgend * Port Talbot * Neath * Swansea Settlements served by local trains only: * Patchway * Pilning * Magor * Rogiet * Llanharan * Pontyclun * Pencoed * Pyle * Baglan * Briton Ferry * Skewen * Llansamlet See also * Transport in Wales * Transport in England References * External links * 2007 Business Plan, Network Rail, London * First Great Western timetable for passenger services on South Wales Main Line, Dec 2006—May 2007 *First Great Western timetable for passenger services on South Wales Main Line, May—Dec 2007 *BBC News, Flying Arches, Llansamlet *Some maps of South Wales lines (Google Earth) Category:M4 corridor Category:South Wales Main Line Category:Rail transport in Wiltshire Category:Transport in Bridgend county borough Category:Rail transport in Bristol Category:Transport in Cardiff Category:Transport in Neath Port Talbot Category:Transport in Newport Category:Transport in Rhondda Cynon Taf Category:Transport in Swansea Category:Rail transport in Wales Category:Railway lines opened in 1903 Category:Railway lines in South West England de:South Wales Main Line